18 March 2010

You can enjoy the benefits of olive oil in everything from dips and dressings to skin care and shampoo. It has been used in Mediterranean countries for thousands of years and has quickly become a staple here in North America and other parts of the world. California has some delicious olive oils that I was lucky enough to sample last year at the Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco. It’s actually a pure fruit juice and unlike most seed or vegetable oils, it does not require any heat or chemicals to extract the oil and needs no refinement. The oil can be consumed "as is" immediately after pressing. How perfect is that!! Olive oil can replace the fat in almost any recipe which makes it extremely versatile. It offers more nutrition and flavour than vegetable and seed oils, remains stable when heated and has a relatively high smoke point. Nature's gold!!!I had a high degree of success with my Blood Orange Olive Cake so decided to adapt the recipe to one of my favourite tea breads... Lemon Poppy Seed. This gives you yet another option to try this outstanding and moist cake. I prefer cakes that are not overly sweet and just add that extra touch to serve your guests. Years and years ago when I used to volunteer at my daughters elementary school one of the teachers would bring lemon poppy seed cake every Thursday as a special treat. I don't need to tell you how I looked forward to Thursdays, and not only for the treats.

Although lemons may not be what you would choose for an afternoon snack, consider them to be a powerhouse when you want to bring out the flavour of other foods. You can use ordinary lemons for this cake as I have many times with excellent results. During my last trip to Choices Market low and behold...Meyer Lemons. They were even the same price as the ordinary lemons. I had hit pay dirt!! Meyer lemons are a citrus fruit, native to China, thought to be a cross between a true lemon and a mandarin orange or sweet orange. The fruit is yellow and it is rounder than a true lemon and once they are ripe they have a slightly orange tint to the fragrant, edible peel. They have a sweeter, less acidic flavor than the more common Lisbon or Eureka lemons that are typical in our grocery stores.

You can't help but envision images of sunshine and the sweet smiles of children standing roadside at their homemade lemonade stands in the summer. If you are in a part of the country where you are still longing for Spring this special treat will remind you of what's to come and you will be well on your way. Believe me when I tell you...did I just break out into song...this lemon cake will do you no wrong!!!!It is moist with a delicate crumb and worth every ooh and aah!!!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Grate zest from 2 lemons and place in a bowl with sugar. (If you want a more intense lemon flavour use your best judgement) Using your fingers, rub ingredients together until lemon zest is evenly distributed in sugar.

Halve remaining lemon(s) and squeeze juice into a measuring cup. You will have about 1/4 cup or so. Add buttermilk or yogurt to juice until you have 2/3 cup liquid altogether. Pour mixture into bowl with sugar and whisk well. Whisk in eggs and add poppy seeds.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently whisk dry ingredients into wet ones. Switch to a spatula and fold in oil a little at a time. Scrape batter into pan and smooth top.

Bake cake for about 50 - 55 minutes, or until it is golden and a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up. Serve with whipped cream if desired. I adore my olive oil cake sprinkled liberally with icing sugar!!!

Serves 8 - 10

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author/owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.

This looks fabulous, Valli. I love lemons, but don't think I've ever had Meyers before. I've definitely never seen it for sale, but admittedly never looked very hard. I'll search for it, this cake is an inspiration.

Mmmmm...lemon cake. How I love lemon cake. There is just something about it. I haven't worked much with meyer lemons, so I should really try to do a dessert with them the next time I can get my hands on some.

I have yet to try olive oil cake. I'm a little reluctant because I'm not a huge fan of the strong flavor of olive oil in breads (like when I make focaccia), but enough sweet flavors can temper that, so I really should put aside my prejudices and make an olive oil cake.

I would not have thought of using olive oil in cakes if it wasn't for reading it here. Does it not overwhelm the other flavours? This cake certainly looks and sounds good. Just checked out the olive oil and blood orange cake too which looks equally good.

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My blog More Than Burnt Toast has been my passion for almost 9 years and has evolved with me over time as I have gained confidence in the kitchen. Follow my travels through Italy and Greece one recipe at a time, upcoming cooking classes at local Okanagan wineries and restaurants, as well as daily experimentation in my own kitchen. Every day we should be excited about what we are eating even if it just means making use of a wonderful find at our local farmers market. I look forward to getting to know you.